Eureka
Fri, 29 Oct 2004, 10:05 amWalter Plinge2 posts in thread
Eureka
Fri, 29 Oct 2004, 10:05 amI went to see this show in its "World Premier Season" at the Melbourne 'Maj' last Friday night. It was expensive, but after all, an original Australian production of this magnitude doesn't come along every day. One thing is for sure, it is bound to be picked up and covered by every musical theatre company in the country at some stage over the next decade or so, so it was good to be in on the 'ground floor' - with the rest of the 'groundlings'.
Beforehand, I had read a crit in one of the weekend papers which said that 'Eureka' was like a pale imitation of 'Les Miserables 'and that the performances of the two leads (Ian Stenlake and Rachael Beck) were lacklustre. On the other hand, I had heard a local radio reviewer praising it as another good reason to be proud to be an Aussie. I tend to agree with both, to an extent.
The historic events (150 years ago this December) on which the story is based are still regarded as "'our revolution" and "the only battle ever fought on Australian soil". These events are no less defining of our nation and who we are as a people for being less grandiose than the French or American revolutions, although it does make it more difficult to string the dramatic moments together in an entertaining way. Here, the writers have to make use of their informed imagination a bit, which they did well.
As to the 'leads', I think it was no fault of these two very competent actors that their characters were somewhat overshone - after all, they were playing real historic figures who became highly respectable in later life and are still honoured and revered (there is a suburb of Melbourne and even a federal electorate named after Peter Lalor). On the other hand, the (fictional) characters of Sean (Simon Gleeson) and Bridie (Trisha Crowe) were allowed to be larger than life and to shine the more brightly, which they did.
There were many memorable moments in the show, not the least being the operatic duel between Sean and Grey (Michael Cormick), the poignant "What Women Do" and the brilliant "Red Lantern" tableau. It was also wonderful to see on stage such icons of Aussie theatre as Amanda Muggleton, Barry Crocker and Nancye Hayes (owing just a little to Dame Edna), all of whom looked their ages, but obviously haven't lost any of their passion.
The set and lighting design was fabulous and combined many styles and techniques, creating an excellent contrast between the harsh world of the diggers and the gentility of the colonial overlords. The music was also brilliant - many of those songs are destined to become very familiar to us before long - ranging in style from Irish and Spanish folk to neo classic. Somewhere in there, I'm sure there was some fair dinkum Aussie stuff as well.
All in all, I found it a most entertaining and uplifting experience, well worth the price and I'm sure the show, like the flag, will live on for another 150 years at least.
Beforehand, I had read a crit in one of the weekend papers which said that 'Eureka' was like a pale imitation of 'Les Miserables 'and that the performances of the two leads (Ian Stenlake and Rachael Beck) were lacklustre. On the other hand, I had heard a local radio reviewer praising it as another good reason to be proud to be an Aussie. I tend to agree with both, to an extent.
The historic events (150 years ago this December) on which the story is based are still regarded as "'our revolution" and "the only battle ever fought on Australian soil". These events are no less defining of our nation and who we are as a people for being less grandiose than the French or American revolutions, although it does make it more difficult to string the dramatic moments together in an entertaining way. Here, the writers have to make use of their informed imagination a bit, which they did well.
As to the 'leads', I think it was no fault of these two very competent actors that their characters were somewhat overshone - after all, they were playing real historic figures who became highly respectable in later life and are still honoured and revered (there is a suburb of Melbourne and even a federal electorate named after Peter Lalor). On the other hand, the (fictional) characters of Sean (Simon Gleeson) and Bridie (Trisha Crowe) were allowed to be larger than life and to shine the more brightly, which they did.
There were many memorable moments in the show, not the least being the operatic duel between Sean and Grey (Michael Cormick), the poignant "What Women Do" and the brilliant "Red Lantern" tableau. It was also wonderful to see on stage such icons of Aussie theatre as Amanda Muggleton, Barry Crocker and Nancye Hayes (owing just a little to Dame Edna), all of whom looked their ages, but obviously haven't lost any of their passion.
The set and lighting design was fabulous and combined many styles and techniques, creating an excellent contrast between the harsh world of the diggers and the gentility of the colonial overlords. The music was also brilliant - many of those songs are destined to become very familiar to us before long - ranging in style from Irish and Spanish folk to neo classic. Somewhere in there, I'm sure there was some fair dinkum Aussie stuff as well.
All in all, I found it a most entertaining and uplifting experience, well worth the price and I'm sure the show, like the flag, will live on for another 150 years at least.
Re: Eureka
Thu, 9 Dec 2004, 11:44 amWalter Plinge
Inspired by seeing this show, I made the pilgrimage last weekend to Ballarat for the 150th anniversary 'festivities'. These included many small but significant ceremonies, a comprehensive visual art exhibition and a mammoth 3-day concert featuring such top Aussie 'cultural' acts as Yothu Yindi, Paul Kelly, Shane Howard, Deborah Conway, Jimmy Little and Kavisha Mazzella, plus a plethora of excellent international acts, all under the Big Top in the Ballarat botanic gardens - but no 'theatre'. There were even installation and circus artists - but no 'theatre'. The musical had finished in Melbourne a fortnight earlier and I thought there might have been at least a concertised version on the actual day in the actual place, but no. Perhaps nobody thought of that.
I noticed from his bio notes, Shane Howard (ex Goanna Band) had in 2000 been awarded an Australia Council 'fellowship', the main purpose of which was "to assist in the creation of a musical play centred on the events of the Eureka Stockade". So where was that? He certainly wasn't launching it on this aptly auspicious occasion, nor was any other mention made of it. Even the attempts to place the show at the 'Maj' within the overall celebratory framework were feeble at best.
So, there we go. Another great historic landmark and creative opportunity passes us by with very little to commemorate it in terms of lasting authentic dramatisation and text. Perhaps it's just not "Aussie".
Thou jarring milk-livered flap-dragon!
I noticed from his bio notes, Shane Howard (ex Goanna Band) had in 2000 been awarded an Australia Council 'fellowship', the main purpose of which was "to assist in the creation of a musical play centred on the events of the Eureka Stockade". So where was that? He certainly wasn't launching it on this aptly auspicious occasion, nor was any other mention made of it. Even the attempts to place the show at the 'Maj' within the overall celebratory framework were feeble at best.
So, there we go. Another great historic landmark and creative opportunity passes us by with very little to commemorate it in terms of lasting authentic dramatisation and text. Perhaps it's just not "Aussie".
Thou jarring milk-livered flap-dragon!